Wake Forest vs Hampton: Preview and Prediction

The Wake Forest men's basketball team hosts Hampton on Saturday afternoon at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Gameday Info:

Tipoff: 12:30 p.m. ET

TV: ACCN

Spread: Wake Forest -20.5

Moneyline: Wake Forest -4500, Hampton +1500

Over/under: 146.5

Click here to purchase tickets

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Team Overview:

Record: 5-1

KenPom Ranking: 77th (74th Offensive, 84th Defensive)

Wake Forest should be a perfect 6-0 on the young season, but a late game collapse vs Loyola Marymount in the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic led to an overtime loss. The Deacs were able to rebound with a 31 point blowout of a pretty horrendous South Carolina State side on Wednesday night, but that loss to Loyola might sting for a little longer.

The only other game that came down to the wire was a home matchup against Utah Valley back on Nov. 15. Tyree Appleby's game winning three-pointer in overtime was needed to secure that victory. The Deacs have three other double digit wins, over Fairfield, Georgia, and La Salle.

Graduate guard Daivien Williamson was held out of last game with a back injury, while Marist transfer Jao Ituka made his debut in the Old Gold and Black, scoring 10 points in 19 minutes. Sophomore guard Cam Hildreth is coming off of a career high 19 point performance on Wednesday night. Junior guard Damari Monsanto has found his footing after a rough start to the season. He's averaging 13 points per game across his last three, and started in place of Williamson vs SC State.

Click the links below for our thoughts on previous games played of by the Deacs:

Takeaways from Wake Forest's 77-75 loss to Loyola Marymount

Takeaways from Wake Forest's 75-63 win over La Salle

Takeaways from Wake Forest's 68-65 win over Utah Valley

Hampton Pirates Team Overview

Record: 1-4

Conference: CAA

KenPom Ranking: 336th (329th Off, 324th Def)

The Hampton Pirates made the jump from the MEAC to the Big South back in 2019, and now they are playing their first season in the Colonial Athletic Association. They were selected last of thirteen teams in the CAA Preseason Media Poll.

Hampton has only won a single game this season, and it came against a non-D1 opponent, Regent University. The Pirates have lost to James Madison (106-58), East Carolina (82-73), UCSB (79-66) and North Alabama (75-74).

READ: ACC Basketball Power Rankings Week 2

The Pirates are led by a trio of experienced guards who all have good size. 6-5 senior Russell Dean is averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, but is shooting a lowly 32.2% mark from the field. 6-6 Jordan Nesbitt (13.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.2 apg) is a redshirt sophomore who previously played at Memphis and Saint Louis, who isn't scoring much more efficiently at a 33.9% clip. 6-5 Marquis Godwin (11.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.2 apg) is a 6-5 sixth year player who played for Old Dominion from 2017-2020, His 37.0% rate from the field is the highest of the Pirates three double digit scorers.

Head Coach Edward Joyner Jr is in his 14th season at the helm. He's taken Hampton to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed three times (2011, 2015, 2016). Joyner goes nine deep on his bench, and has only one rotation player (6-10 Luc Therrien) who is taller than 6-7.

Hampton ranks in the bottom ten in the nation in rebounds allowed per game, with 42.2.

READ: "The Conductor": The many talents of Wake Forest DT Kobie Turner

Why Wake Forest will cover:

Wake beat South Carolina State by 31 without even playing that well for a decent chunk of the game. They turned the ball over 16 times and twelve minutes into the game they only led by seven. The Demon Deacons should once again dominate on the glass, force turnovers and get out in transition in this matchup. Wake Forest is clearly the superior side here, and the line isn't too big. I'm predicting 20 points and 10 rebounds from Andrew Carr Saturday afternoon. I think he will be really tough for Hampton to stop on the interior.

Why Hampton will cover:

The Pirates have a size advantage in the backcourt which could create some interesting matchups, similar to what Utah Valley was able to do well in their near upset of Wake. Williamson is still questionable, and Ituka might still have some rust to knock off. The Pirates are coming off of a one point loss, so that frustration could turn into great energy to start this game. Hampton can keep this game within 20 against a Wake Forest team that isn't very physically imposing. Especially if they can make some open threes, as SC State likely would have covered the number last time out if they could've shot the ball a bit better (4-24 3PTs).

READ: Wake Forest vs Duke: Football Series History

Score Prediction: Wake Forest 89 Hampton 65

I’ll lay the 20.5 in this one. I was hesitant to do so against South Carolina State, and things weren't pretty at the start, but Wake Forest still found a way to break the game open and win by 31. I'd be very surprised if this undersized and inefficient Hampton team is able to play their best game of the season Saturday afternoon and keep things within reach against this ACC opponent. Plus, this is definitely the easiest game Wake has left on their schedule, so staying locked in and running the score up will be a focus. Deacs cruise today and win by 21+.

The Pick: Wake Forest -20.5

Season prediction record

2-4 ATS

5-1 Straight up

Follow @DeaconsDaily on Twitter and Instagram for more Wake Forest content